Hang on for a minute...we're trying to find some more stories you might like.

Email This Story

In this edition, The Paw takes a look at three different service clubs at WMC to find out about the impact they have had in our community and how their experiences can help each of us in our own service endeavors.

At Highlanders for Humanity, co-presidents Kelli McGrath and Claire Caldarola are at

the forefront of community service. “Community service is not about doing all the events but putting your all in the events that you do,” the two seniors stated. Not spreading yourself too thin allows you to capitalize on your strengths and truly devote yourself to causes you care about.

Highlanders has inspired the WMC community to contribute to the local community, spanning projects for the elderly, the hungry, and children. Highlanders will provide some exciting new service opportunities in the upcoming spring months, such as a day project to build a house. Highlanders will also sponsor a “Pay it Forward” cooking day beforehand to make lunches for the workers at the construction site.

The Fine Arts have enriched and touched almost all of our lives. Whether through a beautifully-composed piece of music, a masterfully-rendered painting or a great stage performance. Lucas Huizenga, a senior who is the President of Action for the Arts, is leading the way in enriching the WMC community with creativity. He explained that the club is a “service for the arts” currently focused on the school community in the areas of theater, the fine arts, visual arts, music, and creative writing. The club’s purpose is to facilitate the arts by supporting artists and performances. It aims to expand its efforts going forward to facilitate the arts, especially theater and music, for the entire neighborhood.

The young club has already made an impact within the school. It has set up the Cabaret show for the WMC a capella group. Because the a capella group is independent, it “needed a lot of help,” Huizenga explained. Rather than going in alone, the group turned to Action for the Arts for accompaniment. “The club supplied volunteers and hard workers to decorate and get everything ready to make it a great evening for the entire community.”

Action for the Arts would like to expand the club through more direct communication with different school departments. Huizenga shares that taking part can be “a nice bonding experience and pretty fun.” He also echoed McGrath and Caldarola about doing what you love, saying, “I really fell in love with theater and all of the arts. So it’s easier to help other people when you love what you’re doing.” Huizenga’s pro tip for drumming up enthusiasm: “The most effective way is to talk to them and say ‘Hey! Come!’ I think it’s just so much more effective because emails are indirect.”

Clayton Zdroik, a junior, is involved with the Service Learning Club. He is very modest when he says, “I’m not one for inspiring people, but if I had to say something, I’d say that selflessly acting for another’s well-being is one of the most righteous things I’ve ever heard of.” He gives credit to others “The people at this school that are heavily involved in community service deserve a lot of respect for what they are doing.”

In the meantime, Zdroik and the participants of the Service Learning Club focus on three main groups in the surrounding area: the elderly, the impoverished, and the disabled. With the elderly, they entertain at Heath Village and decorate Christmas trees. For the impoverished, they work at the Morristown Soup Kitchen, both serving food and moving supplies. Last year, they participated in a Tourette’s Walk Fundraiser to support those with disabilities.

Zdroik says that volunteer work “really makes you think about what your role is in society and how success isn’t always in your own hands; poor outcomes can be a matter of bad luck rather than choice.”

The impacts that these three clubs have within our community varies, but each is significant. Large-scale turnouts help Highlanders meet large needs while individual passion lets Service for the Arts enrich large numbers through the emotive power of the arts. And the Service Learning Club is delivering a warmer community and connection for those who are otherwise unable to enjoy what our community can offer. These impacts should inspire others to join in the effort.

Zdroik summed it up best, “the sheer number of community service opportunities in this area is outrageous! Whether it be the Service Learning Club, Habitat for Humanity, 4-H, or anything else, students, at this school in particular, have a large number of opportunities to reach out and help make someone else’s life better. All anybody has to do is ask how they can help!”.